Post Colonial Analysis of Heart of Darkness-Joseph Conrad

Using the Tools of Allegory, Joseph Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' can be read from a Postcolonial perspective. As a 21st Century Responder; the structure of the Novella , a story presented within another story, allows one to see the way colonisation and imperialism effected all who were involved.

Conrad uses symbolism frequently throughout the book; some examples of this can be the use of references to the Romans, Buddha and the Thames.

The reference to the Romans could be read using the allegorical tool of foreshadowing as well as using symbolism. The Roman Empire was, at one point, the most powerful civilisation on earth. In the end, the super power which was the Roman Empire fell through the disintegration of political, military, economic and social institution-a societal collapse. As a 21st Century responder, it can be seen that the British Empire is not as powerful as it once was, it too, like the Roman Empire spread and declined. Conrad seemed to be foreshadowing the enterprise which was colonisation, referring to the mistakes of the Roman Empire and linking them to the same actions by the British, "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce." Karl Marx.

In the first section of the Novella, Marlow is described as a Buddha: "He had sunken cheeks, a yellow complexion, an ascetic aspect[1], and, with his arms dropped, the palms of hands outwards, resembled an idol." "We felt meditative …"

[1] The definition of Ascetic is "Characterized by or suggesting the practice of severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons."

Buddha is seen to provide teaching and enlightenment, he is the "Awakened One" or the "Enlightened One". By using this symbolism at the start of the Novella, Marlow is described as the person who will teach and enlighten through the retelling of his experience. Marlow seems to be a typical European but still doesn't seem to belong to a distinct class. In this way, he...

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...Heart of DarknessJosephConrad
“The earth seemed unearthly. We are accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there – there you could look at a thing monstrous and free. It was unearthly, and the men were…No, they were not inhuman. Well, you know, that was the worst of it – this suspicion of their not being inhuman…but what thrilled you was just the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar”. Extract from “Heart of Darkness”, JosephConrad (Chapter 2, page 32).
In the above extract from Conrad’s book, Marlow states that the Africans are indeed human. This is an interesting statement coming from a man employed by the Company, who are doing everything possible to exploit and even kill the Africans, to satisfy their insatiable greed for ivory. The slaughter and exploitation of these innocent people is all being done in the name of “colonisation”, under the guise of civilizing and helping the people of the Congo.
“The book is set in the Congo, at a time when the Congo Free State was a possession of the King of the Belgians, Leopold II. Leopold spoke in the most exalted terms about civilizing the Africans, yet the exploitation, massacre and enslavement of the natives got worse with each year of his reign”. Extract taken from http://www.pinkmonkey.com/booknotes/barrons/heartdarkness24.asp
Marlow is...

...physicality. In the novella ¬Heart of Darkness, JosephConrad uses symbolism to interrogate ideas and judgments of the imperialist ideology. Imperialism argues that colonization benefits both the colonized and the empire yet it looks to excuse its violent methods that ironically, defy its principles. In Heart of Darkness visual imagery and symbolic character construction such as, the Whited Sepulcher, the character of the accountant, the Thames and Congo rivers, Kurt's painting and the map of Africa are used to challenge the pretences of the imperialist ideology and expose the gap between its ideals and its practice. Symbols therefore become tools to interrogate entire concepts.
Marlow's recounting of arriving, "In a city that always makes me think of a whited sepulcher," within the context of a colonialist reading challenges the assumptions that surround the civilized cities of the world. The image of a sepulcher is one of death and confinement defying the expectation of a peaceful and harmonious city. The attributes of death symbolize the inhumanity of the empire and, "The merry dance of death and trade," whilst the image of confinement highlights the rigid social expectations that enable and encourage both cruelty and dehumanization under Belgian rule. Under a biblical reading the book of Mathew describes "whited sepulchers" as something beautiful on the outside but containing horrors...

...Joseph Conrad’s progressive ideas about colonialism are instilled into his novella, Heart of Darkness, (1902) through which the philanthropic pretence of the European Colonisers towards African natives is unveiled. Whilst Conrad’s postcolonial writings were ahead of his own time and context, they are accompanied and contrasted with views founded through a colonial mindset, where colonisation is seen to perhaps bear a burden upon the Europeans rather than the natives. As a result of this, Conrad creates a narrator; Marlow, who vacillates between opinion of his company’s motives – to colonise and to exploit for economic gain. Through this indecisiveness and in the style of a framed narrative, Conrad acts as a story teller to create a parable that denunciates and forces society to question the superiority of colonialism. Despite the indecision, Heart of Darkness seeks to condemn colonialism
Through Conrads description of the colonizers as “traders” as well as the treatment of the native Americans as a benevolent part of “civilization” we are eluded to the ideas of the ultrustic Europeans and their philanthropic notions based on religion and economy. Through the colonial process the colonists were able to impose their religion and thoughts upon the colonized in order to gain greater power over them. A...

...Heart Of Darkness
When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge. (Tuli Kupferberg) In the novel Heart of Darkness by JosephConrad our protagonist Marlow is directly influenced by the antagonist throughout the story. A man named Kurtz; selfish, greedy, and powerful are just a few words to describe him amongst most respect and fear came frequently. The very thought of Kurtz excited the protagonist Marlow who embarks on a journey through the Congo’s unforgiving jungle to find him. On his journey the experiences Marlow comes across in the novel directly influence the characters thoughts, hopes, and even dreams. Leaving the protagonist ever changed because of the impact of experiences throughout the novel. The near end of Kurtz life confounds Marlow changing his mind frame on all that he knew opening his eyes to the very essence of the darkness in the end. "I turned to the wilderness really, not to Mr. Kurtz, who, I was ready to admit, was as good as buried. And for a moment it seemed to me as if I also was buried in a vast grave full of unspeakable secrets. I felt an intolerable weight oppressing my breast, the smell of the damp earth, the unseen presence of victorious corruption, the darkness of an impenetrable night" (Conrad Part 3).
Although Kurtz direct presence throughout the novel isn't persistent because of his appearance in the novel is...

...Heart of Darkness
Dialogues
Notes
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Citations
Heart of Darkness, by JosephConrad, is one of the most well known works among scholars of classical literature and post-colonial literature. Not only is it thought provoking and exciting, but also considered to be one of the most highly stylistic in its class, blending its use of narrative, symbolism, deep and challenging characters, and of course a touch of psychological evaluation that Conrad is well known for. To get a full grasp of the novella, one must first understand the history behind the Congo and its colonization by the Belgians.
As a result of ruthless colonial exploitation, involuntary servitude, and direct violence, the native people live in an impoverished state. As many as six million Africans died during the brutal rubber trade, overseen by the Belgians. Many are forced to be "carriers," for people on jungle expeditions that need to move cargo from one place to another. These packages they carry on their backs, on rough footpaths through the jungle, weigh between 40 and 70 pounds. There are few, if any, breaks to stop and rest. It is a hard life, but this history sets up the action behind the drama in this book, as far as helping to smuggle ivory out, or carry supplies into the jungle nation. The recurring theme of darkness (a symbol...

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My view on “The Heart of Darkness” automatically came to me as a racial story, which encourages racism. The wording used in the story such as, light and dark made it seem like JosephConrad was referring to people of darker skin color as “monstrous” and “inhuman”. “The earth seemed unearthly. We are accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there – there you could look at a thing monstrous and free. It was unearthly, and the men were – No, they were not inhuman. Well, you know, that was the worst of it – this suspicion of their not being inhuman.” (Pg.13). Throughout the reading the main character Marlow says how they would go to places where Africans were fee and it seemed “unearthly” to them. This quote shows how people of a darker skin color were discriminated against and were considered a lower class of people. Usually an author will incorporate certain things into their writing to make a point that people are constantly overlooking the racism, power, femininity, identity, madness, and even fate. This does in fact alter the way a person thinks and views the world.
Chinua Achebe helps prove my claim that Conrad is putting a view into reader’s minds that racism is not a bad thing but people of color “deserve” and should be shackled without any freedom. On page 4 Achebe elaborates on the way Conrad uses a prehistoric earth and shows how he uses it as the...

...Novels do not have to be long to have credible literary merit. Such is the case with Heart of Darkness by JosephConrad. Heart of Darkness is quite short, yet superior and intriguing, due to the content of the novel.
Heart of Darkness is intriguing, like Hamlet or like a Kafka novel, in that readers taken by power of the story never feel quite satisfied with their attempts to intellectualize the experience (Adelman 8).
Heart of Darkness was written during the time of British imperialism and extreme exploitation of Africans in the Congo. The British were exploiting the Africans in an effort to extract ivory from the primitive jungle. Throughout the novel, Conrad expresses his dislike with the 'civilized' white people exploiting the 'savage' black Africans. Conrad also uses several literary devices in his writing to portray and express several messages. The writing style, techniques, structure and themes in Heart of Darkness all combine to create one of the most renowned, respected and mysterious novels of all time. Conrad wrote an ultimate enigma for readers to interpret and critically analyze for years to come.
Conrad's excellence in style is very controversial; some believe that he is "a literary genius" (Adelman 16), while others "criticize him for being...

...mentioned in the novel, can be an integral part of the novel itself - one who brings out one of the novel's main themes. Kurtz is one such example in Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". The mystery in this novel is mainly about a character named Kurtz whom Marlow desires to meet and speak with. Kurtz, like many others, changes due to overexposure in the African jungle. But even after Marlow meets with Kurtz, Kurtz is still a mystery to Marlow and to Conrad's readers. To Marlow, Kurtz became widely known as the man with many faces -like adding an entire new identity over his body. In the novel, Kurtz can be viewed in many perspectives. He could be the "flabby devil," he could be an honest man, and he could even be mindless idiot who was overwhelmed by Africa. Because of Kurtz's constant changes, his mysteriousness starts to cloud the reader's impression of Kurtz. His ambiguity of his nature not only reflects how Africa changes a person entirely, but also the mysteriousness of Africa itself. Through his ambiguity, Kurtz teaches Marlow a lesson that all men are hiding from the truth, but Kurtz still reveals himself more like a cipher, a mysterious human code. Conrad uses Kurtz as one of his prime examples to represent the mystery of Africa; from Kurtz's many faces to Africa's effect on Kurtz as well as the other Europeans, Conrad wants to point out that everyone/everything possesses a mystery within...